During a global pandemic, the usual symptoms of a cold cause great concern, since most of them are typical for COVID-19. But there are some peculiarities in the manifestation of symptoms with such a virus.
Cough
It has a dry character, sometimes with a small amount of phlegm. The cough feels irritating and tickling. From 1 to 3 attacks lasting an hour or more appear per day. If a person coughs like this, this is the first reason to see a doctor.
Temperature
This sign is often one of the first to appear and indicates that the virus can be determined by a blood test. Body temperature rises by 6-9 days from infection, that is, immediately after the incubation period. It is impossible to name specific indicators, since everything is individual. In some patients, the temperature is kept within normal limits all the time. Others complain about 37.2-37.3 degrees. Less often the temperature rises to 38.
If we take the average value, the low-grade fever persists for 1-3 days. Sometimes - up to 5-6 days. If such a situation arises, you must consult your doctor.
To shoot down or not to shoot down? Many doctors do not recommend taking antipyretics if the reading is below 38.5. Other doctors claim that ignoring this body temperature resulted in many patients being hospitalized on days 6-7. There is no universal rule here. If the patient has concomitant chronic diseases or is at risk, it is still worth lowering the temperature. At the same time, you need to drink plenty of fluids, adhere to bed rest and treat the disease according to the doctor’s recommendations.
Loss of smell or taste
One of the most common and well-known symptoms of COVID-19. Scientists believe that anosmia occurs a little differently than typical for ARVI. In the case of Covid, the sense of smell is lost almost suddenly, even when the person does not have nasal congestion.
Anosmia is often accompanied by loss of taste, and subsequently a distortion of taste perception occurs. In most cases, everything is restored within a few weeks, but prolonged impairment of the functionality of the sensory organs is possible.
Runny nose
Nasal congestion usually occurs in the initial stages of the disease. It resembles the course of ARVI, and after a couple of days a person, as a rule, can breathe freely. There is no abundance of mucus observed.
Headache
Moderate intensity is typical for the symptom. Headaches may get worse for two weeks after contracting the virus. Usually the symptom is accompanied by other obvious manifestations, such as loss of smell and taste. Please note that migraines may indicate dehydration.
Indigestion
About 5% of patients experience diarrhea as the first symptom of COVID-19. Moreover, it is relevant for both adults and children. It is important to pay attention to an eating disorder and seek medical help, as the problem can lead to dehydration.
Nausea
Typical for mild COVID-19. Sometimes accompanied by unpleasant sensations in the abdomen and even vomiting. Of course, a symptom cannot be considered the first confirmation of the presence of a coronavirus infection, so you need to look at the totality of signs.
General weakness
People with coronavirus often notice extreme fatigue and aching muscle pain. There is a feeling of “withdrawal” even at normal temperatures. At the moment, it is impossible to call myalgia a specific symptom of COVID-19, but if other signs appear in parallel, you need to be wary.
Features of symptoms and course of COVID-19 in different patients
In November 2021, scientists conducted a study on the course of coronavirus in patients of different genders and ages.
Men and women
Because the virus requires ACE-2 proteins to gain a foothold in the body, those with more of them are especially susceptible to the disease. An increased level of receptors was found in the male reproductive organs, which is why Covid manifests itself more strongly in them.
In general, WHO has not yet provided clear data on the differences in symptoms between men and women. According to the results of research by scientists from the USA, the number of deaths is higher among males and amounts to 69% of all cases. This trend is also observed in the rest of the world.
Studies have shown that lower mortality among women is due to the following factors:
- Genetic - biologist F. Ubeda found that women are valuable for viral infections because they are able to transmit them to the fetus during pregnancy and to the child during childbirth. In this way, the pathogen is transmitted over generations.
- Social - in many countries, the female sex is less active in terms of communication with others. For example, this is typical for Chinese women. Men, on the other hand, are more likely to have contact with others, including physically (they shake hands when meeting). At the same time, women seek medical help more often than men.
There is also an opinion that lifestyle has an impact. There are more men who smoke than women, and smokers are more susceptible to infection.
Children
Initially, scientists argued that children practically do not suffer from a severe course of the disease and tolerate it relatively easily. For example, in December 2021 there were no known cases of pneumonia in a child caused by coronavirus. But children still carry the virus, so it’s worth knowing the symptoms:
- 1-3 years. Slight dry cough, redness in the throat, runny nose, temperature up to 38 degrees, diarrhea. It is especially worth paying attention to the last symptom. Diarrhea in a child is dangerous because it can cause dehydration, so you should definitely see a doctor. For any of the mentioned manifestations.
- 3-7 years. Hoarse voice, slight weakness and aching joints, slight runny nose. It hurts the child to swallow; there is a feeling in the throat that something is tickling.
- 7-13 years old. Myalgia, general malaise, sore and sore throat, dry cough. It is worth considering that in most cases, children of this age tolerate Covid easily, but there are complications. If your child complains of chest pain or difficulty breathing, call a doctor immediately.
- 13-18 years old. Symptoms in a child of this age are almost the same as in adults. However, there are very few cases of severe disease or critical forms.
Remember: even if a child suffers from “corona” easily and without symptoms, with a confirmed infection he must be quarantined.
Eye diseases in humans: list, symptoms
The reason for this is many factors. For example, the rapid development of computer technology and the deterioration of the environmental situation every year. Next, we will consider the most common diseases, and also highlight their characteristic symptoms.
Pathology of the optic nerve
Glaucoma
- a chronic disease. Due to increased pressure inside the eyes, optic nerve dysfunction occurs. As a result, vision decreases, which may disappear in the future. The disease progresses very quickly, so the patient risks completely losing his vision if he delays going to the doctor. Signs: impaired lateral vision, black spots, “hazy” images, inability to distinguish objects in the dark, colored rings appear in bright light.
Ischemic optic neuropathy
– circulatory disorders in the intraocular or intraorbital region. Symptoms: decreased visual acuity, appearance of “blind” spots in some areas. Reducing viewing angle.
Ischemic neuropathy
Neuritis
- infection. An inflammatory process in the optic nerve is characteristic. Signs: loss of sensitivity in the area around the eye, pain, weakening of the muscles associated with the optic nerve.
Nerve atrophy
– a disease characterized by dysfunction of arousal conduction. Color perception and viewing angle are impaired. Vision decreases and a person can become completely blind.
Nerve atrophy
Pathology of the eye orbit, eyelids, lacrimal canals
Blepharitis
- inflammation that occurs along the edges of the eyelids. Symptoms: swelling of the tissue, accompanied by burning and redness. The patient feels as if a speck has gotten into his or her eye. There is itching and characteristic discharge. Bright light is difficult to perceive, tearing, pain. Dry eyes and peeling of the eyelid margins may occur. After sleep, purulent scabs form on the eyelashes.
Blepharitis
Cryptophthalmos
- a common disease in which the edges of the eyelids fuse together. This causes the palpebral fissure to narrow or even disappear.
Lagophthalmos
– a pathology characterized by a violation of the closure of the upper and lower eyelids. As a result, some areas remain open all the time, including during bedtime.
Turn of the century
– the place where eyelashes grow is turned towards the eye socket. This creates severe discomfort due to rubbing and irritation of the eyeball. Small ulcers may form on the cornea.
Turn of the century
Coloboma of the century
- disturbance in the structure of the eyelids. Usually occurs along with other morphological defects. For example, cleft palate or cleft lip.
Swelling of the eyelid
– localized accumulation of excess fluid in the tissues around the eyelid. Symptoms: local redness of the skin, discomfort. Eye pain worsens when touched.
Swelling of the eyelid
Blepharospasm
- looks like a convulsive contraction of the facial muscles, as if the person is quickly squinting his eyes. Not controlled by the will of the patient.
Ptosis
– drooping of the upper eyelid. Pathology is classified into several subtypes. In some cases, the eyelid droops so much that it completely covers the eyeball.
Ptosis
Barley
– an infectious disease of an inflammatory nature that occurs with pus discharge. Signs: swelling of the edges of the eyelids, redness and peeling. Pressing is accompanied by severe pain. Discomfort (feeling of a foreign object in the eye) and lacrimation are common. The acute form is characterized by signs of intoxication - loss of strength, fever, headache.
Barley
Trichiasis
– improper eyelash growth. The danger is that pathogens can easily enter the eyes. This provokes inflammation, conjunctivitis and other problems.
Dacryocystitis
– an infection of the tear duct that causes inflammation. There are several types of pathology: acute, chronic, acquired, congenital. Symptoms: painful sensations, the lacrimal sac is red and swollen, suppuration of the canals and constant tearing.
Dacryocystitis
Pathology of the tear-producing system
Dacryodenitis
- damage to the lacrimal glands. It occurs due to chronic pathologies, or due to infection entering the body. If there is a disruption in the functioning of the circulatory system, the disease can take a chronic form. Symptoms: the upper eyelid becomes red and swollen. In some cases, the apple of the eye protrudes. If dacryodenitis is not treated, the inflammation spreads, ulcers form, a high temperature rises, and general malaise appears.
Dacryoadenitis
Lacrimal gland cancer
– develops as a result of abnormal activity of gland cells. Tumors can be either benign or malignant. The second group includes, for example, sarcoma. Signs: pain in the eyes and head. Associated with an increase in formation that puts pressure on the nervous tissue. In some cases, the pressure is so strong that it causes delocalization of the eyeball, making it difficult for them to move. Additional symptoms include swelling and loss of vision.
Pathology of the connective membrane of the eye
Xerophthalmia
– an eye disease during which tears are produced less than normal. There are several reasons for this: chronic inflammatory processes, various injuries, tumors, long-term use of medications. Elderly people are at risk.
Conjunctivitis
- inflammation that occurs in the conjunctival mucosa. It can be allergic, infectious and fungal. All of these varieties are contagious. Infection occurs both through physical contact and through everyday objects.
Tumors of the conjunctiva
– appearing in the coal on the inner side of the mucosa (pterygium) and forming in the area of the connection with the cornea (pinguecula).
Lens pathology
Cataract
– gradual clouding of the eye lens. The disease develops very quickly. It can affect one eye or both. In this case, either the entire lens or one part is damaged. The main category of patients is elderly people. It is this disease that can reduce vision in a very short time, even to the point of blindness. In young people, cataracts are possible due to injuries or somatic diseases. Symptoms: rapid loss of vision (this forces you to change lenses very often), inability to distinguish objects in the dark (“night blindness”), impaired color perception, eyes get tired quickly, and in rare cases, double vision.
Cataract
Lens abnormalities
– cataracts, bifaf, spherophakia, lens luxation, coloboma developing from birth.
Retinal pathology
Retinitis (retinal pigmentary dystrophy)
– a disease manifested by the occurrence of inflammation in various parts of the retina. The causes include injury to the organs of vision and prolonged exposure to sunlight. Symptoms: the normal field of vision narrows, visibility decreases, the image doubles, insufficient visibility at dusk, characteristic colored spots appear before the eyes.
Retinal detachment
– a pathology in which destruction of the retina is observed. Its inner layers begin to peel away from nearby epithelial tissues and blood vessels. In most cases it is treated surgically. Lack of treatment results in vision loss. Signs: “fog” before the eyes, distortion of the geometric shape of objects, sometimes flashes of light and bright sparks flash through.
Retinal detachment
Retinal angiopathy
– destruction of the structure of the choroid in the eyes. This disease is caused by physical trauma, high intraocular pressure, disturbances in the functioning of the central nervous system, diseases of the circulatory system (arterial hypertension), poisoning, and pathological defects in the morphology of blood vessels. Symptoms: noticeable decline in vision, blurred vision, foreign flickers, image distortion. In the most severe cases, vision loss occurs.
Retinal dystrophy
– an extremely dangerous disease that can have a wide variety of causes. The tissue of the retina of the eye dies or decreases. This can happen if qualified assistance from specialists is not provided in a timely manner.
Corneal pathology
Keratitis
– an inflammatory process that affects the cornea of the eye. As a result, clouding of the cornea and the occurrence of infiltrates. The cause may be an infection: viral, bacterial. Injuries can also trigger the development of the disease. Symptoms: lacrimation, redness of the mucous membrane of the eye, atypical sensitivity to bright light, the cornea loses its normal properties - shine, smoothness. If treatment is neglected, the infection spreads to other areas of the visual system.
Keratitis
Belmo
– formation of scar tissue on the cornea of the eye, its persistent clouding. The cause is prolonged inflammatory processes in the body or injury.
Belmo
Corneal astigmatism (keratoconus)
– degeneration of the cornea, which occurs due to increased pressure inside the eye. This leads to a change in the shape of the cornea of the eye. Symptoms: light fringe around the light bulbs, immediate decrease in vision in one of the eyes, myopia.
Keratoconus
Change in eye refraction
Myopia (myopia)
– a refractive error in the eye, in which a person has difficulty seeing distant objects. In case of myopia, the image is fixed in front of the retina. Signs: poor discrimination of distant objects, discomfort, rapid eye fatigue, pressing pain in the temples or forehead.
Myopia
Farsightedness (hypermetropia)
– a refractive error in which the image is read behind the retina, is the opposite of myopia. In this case, the patient has difficulty seeing both near and distant objects. Symptoms: very often there is blurriness before the eyes, sometimes the patient exhibits strabismus.
Farsightedness
Astigmatism
– the disease is characterized by the inability to focus light rays on the retina. Usually appears in people with physiological disorders of the visual organs: cornea, lens. Symptoms: blurred and unclear image, a person gets tired quickly, often complains of a headache; in order to see something, one has to strain the eye muscles.
Astigmatism
Other eye diseases
Nystagmus
– uncontrollable oscillatory movements of the eyeballs.
Lazy eye syndrome or amblyopia
– a pathology in which the eye, due to damage to its muscles, stops working and making movements.
Anisocoria
– difference in pupil size. Basically, it appears with all kinds of eye injuries. Involves acute sensitivity to light and decreased vision. Sometimes this pathology indicates a disruption in the functioning of one of the parts of the brain - the cerebellum.
Anisocoria
Episcleritis
- inflammation that forms in the episcleral tissue. First, redness appears near the cornea, then this area swells. Signs: feeling of discomfort, eyes hurt from bright light. There are discharges from the connective membrane. In most cases, episcleritis goes away on its own.
Episcleritis
Aniridia
– complete absence of the iris of the eye.
Aniridia
Polycoria
– an eye defect when a person has several pupils.
Polycoria
Ophthalmoplegia
– a disease when the nerves of the eye that are responsible for its movement cease to function correctly. This causes paralysis and the inability to rotate the eyeballs. Symptoms: eyes are turned to the nose, do not change this position.
Exophthalmos
– pathological exit of the eyeball beyond the orbit of the eye, occurs due to swelling of its tissue. In addition to the main symptoms, redness of the eyelids and pain when touching the inflamed area are noted.
Diplopia
– a disorder of the visual system, consisting of constant double vision of visible objects.
What to do first when symptoms appear
The first and most important thing is self-isolation. If symptoms of Covid are detected, it is necessary to limit contact as much as possible and inform your family doctor about the symptoms. He will order a COVID-19 test to ensure the presence or absence of infection. If Covid is confirmed, the doctor will select treatment tactics, and the carrier will need to remain in quarantine for the prescribed time. Self-isolation ends when you take the test again with a negative result.
Other important recommendations for those exposed to coronavirus:
- try to get plenty of rest so that your body has the strength to fight the disease;
- eat a healthy diet and drink enough fluids;
- follow the correct daily routine;
- Monitor the humidity in the room so that it always remains at the optimal level.
And be sure to follow all doctor's instructions.
Methods for diagnosing COVID-19 in the laboratory
The disease is diagnosed based on a clinical examination, medical history, and the results of instrumental and laboratory tests.
To date, the following tests are carried out to determine SARS-CoV-2:
- PCR method. Due to its high sensitivity, this test is considered the best for primary screening. As the disease progresses, its effectiveness decreases, so the test is effective only in the initial stages.
- IgG antibody test. Makes it possible to see the presence of an immune reaction to the appearance of a virus in the body. IgG antibodies indicate that a person has already had coronavirus. The sensitivity of the analysis is 96%, that is, a false negative result is possible in 4% of cases. If a person does not have coronavirus, there will be no positive result (100% specificity).
- IgM antibody test. Indicates the presence of infection in the body. IgM antibodies indicate that a person is currently suffering from Covid. The sensitivity and specificity of the test are similar to the previous one.
- Express test. For diagnosis, blood is taken from a finger. The test is considered less effective than previous ones, since the probability of a correct result is 70%.
Today, testing is carried out in all medical laboratories. You can choose a place to get tested based on reviews and recommendations of good doctors. Prices may vary depending on region and internal laboratory policies. The test will be needed to obtain a Fit To Fly certificate, which is required to travel abroad.
General symptoms
Any pathological process is accompanied by changes in the functioning of almost all body systems. Local symptoms reflect the response of the affected organ itself, while general symptoms reflect the response of the body as a whole. General symptoms develop with changes in the main constants of homeostasis: internal temperature, CBS, oncotic and osmotic pressure, hydration level, bcc, pressure, blood gas composition, etc. The following groups of systemic reactions are distinguished:
- Thirst
. A person can experience extreme thirst in a hot climate, dehydration, consumption of salty foods, alcohol - in this case, the sensation is a physiological signal indicating the need to replenish water reserves in the body. Pathological symptoms include constant thirst and polydipsia, which occurs in diabetes mellitus. - Intoxication
. The formation or entry into the body of toxins during infectious diseases, poisoning, and oncological processes primarily disrupts the functioning of the central nervous system, therefore the first signs of intoxication syndrome are lethargy, weakness, drowsiness, and severe headache. An increase in vascular tone and an imbalance of water and electrolyte balance leads to a feeling of aching throughout the body (especially often in the muscles and joints). - Weight change
. It can occur both in the direction of gaining extra pounds and in the direction of losing weight up to exhaustion (with anorexia, oncological pathology). If a person does not consciously follow a diet, then progressive weight gain or loss should be a reason to visit a doctor. Fluctuations (frequent changes) in weight are also possible with hormonal dysfunction. - Thermoregulation disorders
. Fever is one of the most common general symptoms of infectious pathologies. In various diseases, low-grade, febrile, pyretic, hyperpyretic fever and chills may occur. Less commonly (for example, with hypothyroidism) hypothermia occurs. Signs of thermoregulation disorders may also include excessive sweating or, conversely, a decrease in sweating (hypohidrosis, anhidrosis).
General symptoms are nonspecific; they accompany the course of most diseases of various nature (infectious, tumor, endocrine metabolic, etc.). It is impossible to make an accurate diagnosis on the basis of general symptoms alone, so it is necessary to compare it with other, more pathognomonic (specific) signs and clarify the nature of the disease using instrumental and laboratory techniques.
